One of my favorite pastimes after a long day of work is to sit and watch sports. During each sports season, you’ll find me enjoying my favorite Atlanta-based teams as they work together to defeat their opponents. One of my favorite things about watching sports is following how the players find ways to work together, on offense and defense, in order to accomplish their goal. In an age of blockbuster trades and ever-increasing salaries for the most talented players, one might think that individual talent is the most valuable thing. But Michael Jordan, arguably the most talented player to ever play professional sports, has been proven right: Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.
This is just as true in the world of ministry as it is in the sports world. Anyone with ministry experience will tell you that they can’t do it alone. Pastors need a team of people around them to help lead and disciple. Worship leaders need a team of musicians and AV workers to ensure the worship service runs smoothly and effectively. School principals need a team of administrators and teachers to help the school accomplish their mission of educating and forming the next generation.
At the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention, we believe that ministry is a team sport, and this is true for your child safety efforts as well. This article will help you understand the need for a team approach when it comes to child safety.
What is a Child Safety Team?
A Child Safety Team (CST) is a team of individuals within your church devoted to providing a safe ministry environment. They work together to develop, implement, maintain, and refine your ministry’s Child Protection Policies (CPP).
1. Follows the Biblical Model
When you read through the book of Acts and the epistles, one thing becomes extremely apparent: the early church’s leaders are almost never alone! In the early chapters, Peter is almost always accompanied by John. Later, Paul picks up disciples to go with him on his missionary journeys. In Acts 20:28, Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesian elders is: Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” As a team, they are to work together to guard against the fierce wolves who will seek to draw away disciples. In ministry, leaders work together with other leaders to do the work.
Furthermore, leaders are commanded to engage those under their leadership in the work of ministry. In Ephesians 4:11, pastors and overseers are told that their job is to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. What if we didn’t measure ministry success by the smoothness of our programs or the number of attenders, but by asking the question, Did we equip and engage other believers in the work of ministry? Paul also reminded the Corinthian church that they were a body dependent on one another and the Spirit who empowers them: All these [gifts] are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ (1 Cor. 12:11-12). Each member of your ministry has something to bring to the table; a ministry of child safety is a great way to help the people in your church exercise their gifts for the good of the ministry.
2. Brings Diverse Perspectives
Maybe you’ve been tasked with developing a Child Protection Policy and you’re thinking, Uh, they didn’t teach me about this in seminary. I don’t even know where to start! Appointing a devoted Child Safety Team means that you don’t have to handle this complex issue alone. The more informed perspectives you can bring to the table, the fewer blind spots you will miss and the more effective your child safety measures will be.
It is likely that you have people in your ministry who have backgrounds, skills, and experiences that can help you develop and maintain your CPP. Maybe you have someone with a law enforcement or investigations background. They can be helpful as you assess risks to children in your ministry. Maybe someone has a background in law or human resources; they could be indispensable in writing policies that are clear and implementable. You also have access to a group who will care deeply about the safety of the children: Parents. These parents will naturally be invested in the safety of their children. It’s likely that there are many sharp-eyed moms and dads who can help you identify risks and set boundaries to protect the children.
3. Encourages Long-Term Maintenance
How many times have you tried to start new initiatives, programs, or set a new vision for your ministry? Over time, it can be difficult to implement changes in philosophy, culture, or ethos in your ministry. It’s an uphill battle since you are working against not only potential active resistance, but also the passive resistance of members who “like things the way they are.” This is an inevitable part of leadership, whether you’re new to the ministry or you want to see your ministry make changes.
Although implementing change takes a lot more than this, one simple strategy is to invite a group of people to buy in and become the pioneers and advocates for a change in child safety. We encourage ministry leaders to think of child safety almost like a new ministry program. If you’re a school administrator and want to partner with your local community to meet needs, you’ll need to devote some resources to see that new program come to fruition. The new child safety program will need someone to oversee and take ownership of it. It will probably need a budget line item, as well as a plan to raise or allocate funds. You’ll need a group of volunteers to help make that program happen. You’ll need to train them on how to spread the word about this new initiative. Your Child Safety Team is going to be that group of people advocating for this new ministry initiative. By appointing a team to oversee this, you’ll demonstrate legitimacy to other attenders communicating, We’re in this for the long haul.
Additionally, appointing a CST reduces the risk of child safety being pushed to the margins through the different stages in the life cycle of a ministry. Personnel come and go. Organizations go through thin times where certain things need to be prioritized and other things are left for another day. Instituting the CST means you have a team of people who care and want to see a ministry of child safety continue through the years of your ministry.
4. Spreads the Work Around
Another reason you should appoint a Child Safety Team devoted to developing and maintaining your Child Protection Policy is they can help share the load. In our experience, many ministries get bogged down as one person attempts to juggle the responsibility of developing policies alongside their regular ministry responsibilities. There are 73 Indicators of ECAP’s Child Safety Standards. If one person tackled one a week, it would take them a year and a half to write policies that cover each Indicator, not to mention the additional work of implementation and training. Instead, ask your CST to meet with you once a month for six months. Devote each meeting to one section of the Standards and ask the team to devote five hours during that month to come up with ideas to comply with each Indicator. This way, you’re spreading the work around and collaborating to find creative solutions. Your team would be devoting about an hour a week to help develop your CPP.
5. Increases Awareness Around the Organization
A final reason why you should appoint a Child Safety Team is because they will help you increase awareness about the problem of abuse, as well as what your ministry is doing to combat it. You, the ministry leader, can’t be everywhere at once. Time is limited, and you can only talk to so many people. Multiply your time and influence by inviting a team of people to help you implement these changes in your organization.
Many people still don’t understand the problem of abuse in our society. Maybe they still believe the myths: It couldn’t happen in our ministry; Strangers are the main ones we need to worry about; and, I could recognize an abuse victim if I saw one. Delegating these responsibilities and asking a team to consider the problem of abuse will help to dispel the myths as you equip the team with what we know about abusers and their victims. As your team learns about this topic, this will help to create a culture of compassion and care. Many survivors of childhood abuse never told anyone about their abuse because they didn’t think they would be believed by an adult. The members of your Child Safety Team will instead be on the lookout for indicators of abuse. They will be equipped to handle any difficult conversations that need to happen with the children (and their parents) in your ministry.
Conclusion
Don’t be surprised if survivors of abuse come forward as you begin appointing team members and increasing awareness about this problem. Approximately 25% of any given organization is made up of sexual abuse survivors, so you may have some children—as well as adults—come forward when you start raising awareness. As sad as it is, shedding light on this topic will give you opportunities to shepherd hurting people and get them the help they need.
